CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This study attempts to investigate teacher‟s strategies and student‟s responses
in teaching listening comprehension. This chapter presents the background of the
research, statement of the problems, the objectives of the study, significance of the
study, scope of the study, and clarification of main terms, thesis organization, and
summary of the study.
1.1 Background of The Study
Listening is a very important language skill in human communication or
foreign language classroom through which students receive and interact with the
target language (Vandergrift and Goh, 2012; Etman and Zaida, 2009; Brown, 2001;
and Nunan, 1999). In other words, listening competence is universally „larger‟ than
speaking competence. That is why, students need listening practice more in order to
cope with real communication in the real world.
To facilitate learners with a good listening comprehension, English teachers
need to apply suitable strategies in teaching listening. As Vandergrift and Goh
(2012: 4) believe “every language teachers needs to have a clear understanding of
the processes involved in listening and in particular how strategies can be used to
manage comprehension efforts”. Teaching listening strategies, as Sanjaya (2008 in
reach specific teaching and learning goal. Additionally, Taba (1966: 45) defines that
teaching strategies are consists of two distinct modes, the generic and the unique.
The generic can be describes as the technique of teaching and the second as personal
judgment, or the art of teaching. It means that an English teacher (who is responsible
to handle a classroom listening activities) has to have the ability to manage listening
process and has to be smart to use strategies in teaching listening comprehension in
order to help learners develop their listening competence.
There are still many debates of which strategies are best in teaching listening
comprehension. Before discussing more about strategies in teaching listening
comprehension, there is an interesting illustration from Anderson (2005: 762) who
claims that “what researchers and teachers must keep in mind is that there are no
good or bad strategies but there is only good or bad application of strategies.” This
may be implied that the difference is in how the strategies are executed and
orchestrated.
Commonly, listening teaching strategies can be carried out in three stages,
namely pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening (Wilson, 2008: 60-110).
Within these three stages, there are two processes (Wong, 2005:26), those are
teaching and learning of listening by focusing on identifying single words, phrases
and sentences which called bottom-up processes, and the other by focusing on the
main ideas or meaning, called top-down processes. Additionally, the two processes
can be used together, which is called interactive strategy (Shelton, 2004 as cited in
In this respect, there are previous studies in similar issue. First, Jiang (2009:
93) conducts the study investigating the strategy in teaching listening
comprehension in Qingdao University, China. The study indicates that potential
obstacles the students encounter in listening class. Then, among the many strategies
the teacher chooses the prediction strategy and describes it in three stages:
pre-listening, while-pre-listening, and post-pre-listening, which effects are tested and proved
efficient. Second, Yekta et. al. (2013: 108) conducts a study investigating the
impact of teaching strategies on Iranian EFL are teenage learners‟ listening
comprehension ability. In their study, there two groups treat by two different
strategies. The results of data analysis reveal that teaching strategies help students
improve their listening comprehension ability.
However, most of schools in Indonesia, according to many English teachers,
considered listening comprehension as the most difficult language skill to teach
than other skills (Kurita, 2012: 30). They feel that they have difficulties in finding
suitable listening materials for junior high school students, in applying suitable
strategies that can make students joyful and successful to listen to the material
given, and in preparing the equipment needed in teaching listening in the
classroom, etc. In this sense, Harmer (2007: 143-135) also says that “the teachers
will face problems to find listening materials in different genres (text types) in
student real life. In the meantime, the teachers should give their students authentic
English as soon and as often as the teacher can.”
Some of the difficulties in comprehending authentic oral material, for students
the natives. They feel frustrated because they think the speaker speaks too fast or
swallowed his words (Fields, 2008: 27), they cannot always have words repeated
(Underwood, 1989 cited in Osada, 2004: 62) and the environment, the conditions
which may affect listening performance including the temperature of the room,
background noise or defective equipment which affects the clarity of a recording
(Wilson, 2008: 12).
In School Based Curriculum (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan Sekolah
Menengah Pertama-KTSP SMP), it is expected that the students of Junior high
school are able to develop their English in four language skills, listening, speaking,
reading and writing. The main objective of listening comprehension practice in
junior high school level is to make the students learn to function successfully in
real life situations. In detail, the purpose of listening activity is to make the
students able to do instructions and to gain information from different kinds of
listening texts or genres (monolog: speech, report, instruction, poems, songs, and
dialog: debate, discussion, movie, etc.). Particularly, according to the competency
standard and basic competency of school based curriculum, the students is expected
to be able to complete the information and respond to transactional, interpersonal,
functional text and monolog text (Emilia, 2010). To reach the goals, the teacher
should consider several aspects, such as planning and applying suitable strategies in
listening activity in the classroom.
Unfortunately, listening comprehension is not included in final examination for
junior high school and in its graduate competency standard 2012 (standar
resulted in teacher‟s tendency in excluding listening among four language skills to
be taught.
Finally, based on the reasons explained above, this study is conducted to find
out the portrait of teachers‟ strategies in teaching listening comprehension at one
junior high school in Bandung. This is aimed at answering the assumption saying
that many teachers, sometimes, pass listening activity in order to focus on other
skills.
1.2 Statement of the Problems
This study explores strategies used by one English teacher in teaching listening
at one junior high school in Bandung. Noticeably, this research is aimed at
answering the following questions.
1. How does the teacher teach listening?
2. What strategies are frequently used in teaching listening?
3. Why are the strategies used in teaching listening?
1.3 The Objective of the study
As indicated in the statement of problems, the purpose of this study is aimed
at:
1. Finding out how does the teacher teach listening
3. Finding out why the strategies are frequently used in teaching listening.
1.4 Significance of the Study
It is expected that the result of this study will be useful for those who
participate in the teaching English as a foreign language. Those are the teachers of
English, the education officers and the school stake holders who hold and facilitate
any kinds of teachers training, the writer of this study, and the other researchers
who are interested in conducting the same field of the study. It is also expected
that this research contributes to the development of teaching English generally and
specifically for teachers‟ strategies development in the future.
1.5 Scope of the Study
This study attempts to investigate teacher‟s strategies in teaching listening for
a junior high school in Bandung. It observes the preparation, actions and evaluation
of strategies used by a teacher in the classroom, frequently-used teaching listening
strategies, and reasons in applying them in classroom listening comprehension.
1.6 Clarification of Main Terms
1. Teacher in this study means a person who teaches listening at one junior high
2. Listening in this study means one of the language skills considered as the most
difficult language skill among three other skills not only for the teacher but also
for the students.
3. Strategies in this study mean what the teacher does in teaching listening
comprehension in the classroom.
4. Teaching Listening comprehension is the process of understanding speech in
first or second language (Richards and Schmidt, 2002: 324). The active process
of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or
nonverbal messages (International Listening Association or ILA, 1995cited in
Pearson et. al., 2011: 111). In this research, it refers to that stated by ILA.
5. Teaching listening strategy is a plan that consists of sequence of activities in
order to aim specific teaching listening goal (Kemp, 1995). In this research, it
refers to teacher plans and actions in sequential activities in order to reach the
teaching listening goal.
1.7 Thesis organization
This thesis is organized into five chapters. The current chapter I is general
introduction. Chapter II is theoretical foundation. It describes the theory of teaching
listening. Chapter III is research methodology. It describes the research methodology
which comprises of research design, data collection and data analysis method.
Chapter IV is finding and discussion. Lastly, chapter V is the conclusion and
1.8. Closing Remark.
This chapter has presented the introduction of the study, which includes the
background of the study, the objective of the study, significant of the study, scope of
the study, clarification of main terms, and thesis organization. The following chapter
